Everyone reads. It might be fiction or non-fiction, a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed.
Reading transports us to places we might not otherwise visit. Reading compels us to tap into emotions and feelings that lie below the surface in the everyday hum drum of life.
Writer and teacher Natalie Goldberg states:
In knowing who you are and writing from it, you will help the world by giving it understanding.
But who are we reading? About two-thirds of by-lines in news media are male. Pitches to mainstream media are mostly by men. And only 32% of all books published are written by women. While today, women make up the majority of those employed in publishing, men still dominate in higher-level positions. And this means the decisions about what to publish are in large still being made by men.
The bar to be published is high. The statistics reveal that many women don’t even try to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Writing compels structure, analysis and above all to be brave. Words on the page require far more commitment than words in your head.
The world is divided into who tells the story and who gets told. We founded Jewish Women of Words eight years ago to empower and amplify women’s voices offering a platform to tell their stories. It’s a place for emerging writers to be seen and read and for established writers to offer their support. We don’t prescribe subject matter as long as what is written is of interest to a Jewish woman.
Since our launch in 2016, we’ve published over 400 articles by women from all around world including Australia, Israel, USA, Hong Kong and Thailand from ages 12 to 92 years. We’ve received wonderful feedback from our community of writers:
Your content is current, fresh, soulful and genuine: Tanya
Jewish Women of Words is like my virtual shul: Dalit
When I posted the piece on my Facebook page, the response was startling. What I wrote made people think and cry: Justine
We want to encourage women to seek out that precious time, to find out what they’re thinking. To be brave and share their thoughts and ideas with our community.
Israeli author Etgar Keret considers why he writes:
The reason I write is that I’m not in dialogue with my emotions; writing puts me in touch with myself.
Whether you are reader or a writer, our hope is that Jewish Women of Words nourishes you and that you visit often.
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